Arthur's eyes followed the words along the semi-transparent interface. It took a few seconds for him to determine what he reading and give his thoughts on it. He had already been feeling off today, but this confirmed that today was not normal.
"Dark King's...Heir? And...And what am I looking at? Is this real? I feel a headache coming! Seriously, is this real? I don't know what to think about this..."
He was confused, shocked, and curious all at once. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to explore the panel and all of its contents.
Arthur sighed and slumped into the couch.
"Today is so odd. First I come down with a random sickness, meet some hot girl, and now I'm seeing things?"
He clicked the dark panel.
—| [Dark King's Guide] |—
—[Title: Dark Prince]
—[Job: Dark King's Heir]
﹂[Exp: 0/1000]
﹂[Attack Power: 1]
﹂[Agility: 1]
﹂[Endurance: 2]
﹂[Charisma: 0]
[Skills]
﹂[Rift] LVL. 1
﹂[Dark King's Authority] Lvl. 1
"Heh. Honestly, this is just...unbelievable. My stats are horrible, and what do you mean my charisma is 0?! This is odd."
"I mean, Dark King's Heir? What is this, an anime? This is pure middle-school syndrome. But, this feels too real to be a hallucination."
"Oh yeah, it said I met a fragment of the Dark King's power, when did I do that?"
Arthur thought back through all of his encounters throughout the day.
He then realized.
"That girl! It must be her! It can't be my mother, I see her every day of my life! And it can't be Dave, the cashier, I've also interacted with him a multitude of times. But the one odd, and interesting day of my life, I ran into her. She must be the key, the fragment of the Dark King's power the panel spoke of."
He picked up his phone and scrolled through his contact list.
After scrolling for a second or two, he found her number.
The girl labeled her name as "Anya♡". This kinda made his cheeks blush a bit, but he brushed it off and went to message her.
﹂[Hey. Are you free?]
A quick text was sent back to him.
﹂[What's this? You just met me and you're already trying to meet up? What a heartbreaker~]
﹂[It's not that! It's urgent. I want to see you.]
﹂[Fine. You're serious enough. Meet me at the park near that store where we met. By 10:00]
***
The sun was gone from the sky by this point in time. And he had to sneak out of the house and avoid being seen by his mom.
He quickly laced up his shoes, put on his jacket, and went out the door.
He jogged to the park, hurrying his steps with each passing second until it was a full-on sprint.
"Why the hell am I sprinting? Who cares, I just need to hurry."
He stopped his feet, placing his hands on his knees as he gasped for a breather.
'My stamina is so bad...huh? Who is that..?'
"That must be her."
Step by step he arrives to stand face-to-face with her.
Anya stood under the moonlight's gaze.
A beautiful, doll-like face, along with a body that lingers on your mind, she was the bane of any man's existence.
Arthur for a second was speechless. He then gulped after looking into her eyes, before walking closer.
"Hey..."
She smiled.
"Hey there heartbreaker~"
"I need to ask you something."
"...? What is it, gloomy boy?"
Arthur looked up at her, "Do you know something about the Dark King?"
A silence hung in the air as the breeze passed by.
"...Wow. Have you figured it out already?"
Arthur was confused by her words.
"What do you mean?"
"I am a fragment of the Dark King's power. But, I am still human. Currently, there are 5 fragments. You've already obtained 1 and now you're on track to getting the rest. The 5 fragments are women, and to become the Dark King and rise above, is to collect them all."
Arthur scratched his head.
"Wait. Wait. Wait. So, you're saying... you're saying there are 4 more fragments? And not just that, their women as well? H-Honestly, what the hell is going on?"
"You might wanna put your foot on the gas and get a move on. Because soon, you will be a target by many."
Arthur turned to her, "W-What does that mean?"
"The Dark King is a being of immense power in the underworld. His power is greatly sought after, and you just so happen to have awakened as his heir. Many demons, spirits, and superhumans will soon be after your power," She told him.
"...Seriously? Dammit. I'm far too weak to do anything to stop them. Why the hell was this power given to me?"
"I have no idea why either. When I saw you, I had a great urge to interact with you. I found you cute, but I also felt like I was being asked too by a voice inside of me."
Arthur held his hand on his chin, thinking as he talked to her, "Perhaps it's due to being a fragment? But, even so. Why would the fragment accept me?... This is confusing."
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find out one day. Also, you were given the guide weren't you? Just do what it asks, and you'll get stronger."
"Guide?..."
'Is she talking about the system interface? I guess it did say guide at the very top.'
[You have discovered knowledge about the Dark King.]
[+1 Point in all stats.]
[Exp: 5/1000%]
He felt a warm feeling course through his bones, muscles, and veins with the stat increase.
"Wow...it was only 1 point and it felt that great?"
'I'm also curious about what the EXP bar means. Gahh! Nope, I'm done thinking for today, I'm gonna go home.'
Anya looked at Arthur, and she then smiled.
"You look tired." She said.
With a scoff, Arthur says:
"Yet again, you read my mind."
Anya wrapped her arms around Arthur.
She snuggled closer, looking into his eyes as she did so.
"W-What is this about? Should we be hugging?..W-We just met y'know."
"Does it matter?~ I'm your fragment, we need each other at the end of the day. A hug wouldn't hurt anybody. And...I'm cold." She said with a pout on her cheek.
"...Liar, it's summer." Arthur chuckled.
***
Arthur awoke with a refreshed feeling in his body. He didn't feel ill, sick, or weak at all. No, he felt stronger than ever. He jumped up, stretching his body and popping his joints all around.
He went to the bathroom, and as he passed the mirror he caught a glimpse.
"Huh?.."
He retraced his steps, to where he now stood in front of the mirror.
"...W-Who...WHO IS THIS?"
[You embraced a fragment.]
[The Dark King's power grows stronger...]
[+9 was added into charisma.]
A handsome face. His messy black hair fit perfectly with his face now. Arthur looked at his chiseled jawline, sharp eyes, and clear skin.
At only 10 Charisma, he was eye-candy.
"No more dark eyes bags, I don't look so gloomy, and my ugly hair naturally fits my looks now?! What happens if I reach 100 Charisma? Would I just glow, literally?"
His body was still fairly skinny and hadn't changed at all really.
"Dammit, it seems my body stayed the same though. But that's fine, having a face like this helps me disregard it."
Arthur spent half an hour looking in the mirror before he finally went to school, where he was pronounced late.